Automatic bobbin and pirn cleaning

ABSTRACT

AN IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING TEXTILE BOBBINS OR PIRNS INVOLVING THE STEPS OF REMOVAL OF MERGE DISC, REMOVAL OF METALLIC SCALE OR DUST FROM THE CORE, AND CLEANING AND DRYING OF THE EXTERIOR FOR SURFACE OF THE BOBBIN OR PIRN AS AN AUTOMATED COMBINED OPERATION WHEREIN THE SEQUENCE OF CONTINUOUS FEED, MERGE, DISC REMOVAL, DRY CORE CLEANING AND LOADING AND DISCHARGE OF THE PIRN OR BOBBIN SURFACE AFTER CLEANING AND DRYING IS AN AUTOMATIC, CONTINUOUS AND HIGH-SPEED OPERATION WHICH IS ADAPTED TO CLEAN BOBBINS AND PIRNS WITH A RANGE OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DIAMETERS AND LENGTHS.

May 18, 1971 1.. L. BAILEY ET AL 3,579,381

' AUTOMATIC BQBBIN AND PIRN CLEANING Filed Oct. 25, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet1 FIG. I

INVENTORS LAWRENCE L. BAILEY DONEL C. AUTIN ATTORNEY May 18, 1971 L, l EETAL 3,579,381

AUTOMATIC BOBBIN AND PIRN CLEANING Filed Oct. 25, 1968 I 2 Sheets-Sheet2 INVENTORS LAWRENCE L. BAILEY DONEL C. AUTIN ATTORNEY United StatesPatent Filed Oct. 25, 1968, Ser. No. 770,557 Int. Cl. 1308b 1/02 US. Cl.134-8 15 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved method andapparatus for cleaning textile bobbins or pirns involving the steps ofremoval of merge disc, removal of metallic scale or dust from the core,and cleaning and drying of the exterior for surface of the bobbin orpirn as an automated combined operation wherein the sequence ofcontinuous feed, merge disc removal, dry core cleaning and loading anddischarge of the pirn or bobbin surface after cleaning and drying is anautomatic, continuous and high-speed operation which is adapted to cleanbobbins and pirns with a range of internal and external diameters andlengths.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In large industrial plants producing textileyarns, it is necessary to process and clean several thousand bobbins orpirns per day in order to supply the necessary cores for the textiles inproduction. These bobbins and pirns are then wound with the requiredweight of textile yarns and shipped to throwing mills and/or fabricmanufacturers. Once the yarn has been removed from the pirn surface, thepirns are stored in boxes. Either prior to storage or during storagesuch pirns may become stained, dusty or develop a rust scale on theinternal core. This dust or scale, when dislodged, would stain ordiscolor the yarn when subsequently wound on the pirn by the syntheticfiber manufacturer and would render it of secondquality or it mightresult in a hidden defect which would cause a streak or stain in thefinal dyed textile article. Therefore, all pirns must be washed beforereuse.

Commercial bobbin washers are known which are suitable for washing anddrying the exterior of the bob.- bins. However, such apparatus aregenerally comprised of massive equipment and are not readily adaptableto pirns, bobbins, or tubes having a range of internal and externaldiameters and lengths. Thus, only very large synthetic fiber plantsemploying a very limited range of bobbin sizes can economically utilizesuch apparatus. Heretofore, in such operations, the merge disc removaland internal cleaning of the metallic core in the pirns have beenaccomplished by separate and additional mechanical or hand operations.Thus, there has long been a need in the industry for apparatus of simpleand efficient design adaptable to handle a range of pirn core sizes,lengths, and materials of construction which continuously perform thedescribed merge disc removal, core cleaning, and external cleaning anddrying operation as a continuous automated unit capable of handling 1000to 2000 pirns per hour of various sizes at a low cost per unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The method and apparatus of the presentinvention involves the gravity feed of pirns or bobbins having anidentification disc in one end thereof to a work station. The pirnsadvance in successive order along a convey way or rectangular-shapedtrough to the work station where Patented May 18, 1971 an air cylinderprovided with a reciprocal plunger is positioned adjacent to one side ofthe convey way for removal of the disc upon actuation of the aircylinder. A microswitch of a Well-known type is associated with the aircylinder for automatically controlling the operation of the cylinder.The microswitch is provided with a sensing trip wire which is contactedby a pirn as it enters the work station or work zone to actuate themicroswitch which transmits a signal to operate the air cylinder.

The air cylinder plunger is provided with an enlarged end portion orsimilar means which is squeezed through an opening in the flexibleidentification disc. Upon retraction of the plunger the disc is removedfrom the pirn and dislodged into a collection means.

Preferably a second air cylinder and motor combination are positioned onthe opposite side of the convey way and in alignment with the discremoval means for thrusting a reacting brush into the cylinder of thepirn for cleaning the internal bore at the same time the disc is beingremoved. The microswitch described above transmits a signal to both aircylinders simultaneously.

In sequence, the pirns move down the convey way from the first workstation until they reach a hook at the end of the feed convey way whichholds the pirn in place. The most advanced pirn is engaged on each openend by beveled spindles mounted on slowly rotating radial arms which areopened by fixed surfaces which expand these arms and on reaching theexact alignment position, the arms drop off the fixed surface underforce causing the beveled spindles to grasp the pirn firmly at bothends.

The rotating arms then move on toward the next station causing the pirnto contact a microswitch for the next sequence of operation as the pirnrises and clears an end hook. The driven spindle engages a moving V-beltcausing the pirn to rotate at about 200 r.p.m. The advancing pirncontacts a revolving brush rotating in a direction opposite to thedirection of the rotation of the pirn with the brush in contact with atank filled with suitable cleaning solvent or solution. After passingthe revolving brush and cleaning station, bobbins are then rotatedagainst a toweling surface, made from a material such as non-wovenrayon, where the action of rotation of the pirn and the slow forwardmovement of the toweling combine to dry the surface. The toweling passesthrough a wringer and is discharged to a suitable container for itsremoval. The dried bobbin then passes on to the next station and, intransit, is disengaged from the drive belt. With continued rotation, theradial arms supporting the pirn contact a fixed surface which spreadsthe arms to overcome the force exerted by associated springs todisengage the beveled spindles from the pirn ends. With thisaccomplished, the pirn drops to a gravity discharge conveyor and rollsto the pirn storage area or is automatically recased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric drawingillustrating a preferred embodiment of feed and discharge convey ways, amerge disc removal apparatus, a core brushing apparatus and a rotarypirn pick-up device with pirn washing station, pirn drying station, andpirn discharge station.

FIG. 2 is an end view of a pirn illustrating the plunger for removing amerge identification disc from the end of the pirn.

FIG. 3 is an end view of a pirn illustrating a power brush beingautomatically inserted into the drive end.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of one side of a pirn pick-up armshowing a beveled insert and a spring end for spreading the arms forpirn engagement and discharge via the beveled spindle device.

FIG. is a view of the drive side of the beveled spindle engagementdevice illustrating a pulley for driving this section.

FIG. 6 is an elevation view of the springs and arms and fixed cam devicewhich causes the arms holding the pirn to expand to discharge said pirnby disengaging it from the beveled spindle holders shown in FIGS. 4 and5.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of fluted aluminum tube expander andsanding disc for repairing and smoothing ends of aluminum tubes.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, pirns 1 arefed by gravity in a convey way 2 inclined at an angle of 5 to 20 untilthey reach position 3 or station 1A. At the time of arriving at thatstation, microswitch signals the actuation of an air cylinder 5 bymeans, not shown, which causes arm 6 to move through openings 7 and 8,and engage merge identification disc 9. The plunger arm end is providedwith a knob or enlarged end portion which penetrates this paper orcardboard disc whereby closure of the paper disc behind the knob on thearm causes removal thereof from the pirn as the arm actuated by aircylinder 5 returns to original position. The merge disc passes throughopening 8 but cannot pass through opening 7 and as a consequence ispulled from plunger disc 6 and discharged down chute 50 to a suitablestorage container (not shown). Simultaneously with the above operation,an air cylinder 11 is actuated by microswitch 10 which pushes brush 12into the core of the drive end of the bobbin. Motor 13 is also actuatedto drive the pulley and drive belt 14 which rotates the brush 12 withinthe core pirn 3. Loose scale, dust and dirt are dislodged by therotating brush and subsequently air cylinder 11 withdraws brush 12 fromthe pirn. Across opening 4 is an expansion and contraction bar forprecisely aligning the position of the pirn at the work station 1A toalign it with the brush arm and pirn merge disc removal plunger. Thisbar may be hydraulically actuated as illustrated in FIG. 1A wherein thebar 100 is forced against bobbin 3 by an air source, not shown, or amechanical screw means which is of conventional design may be employed.

The washing and drying operation which follows the disc removal andinternal cleaning operation is accomplished by rotation of the radialarms clockwise past earns 17 to spread the arms apart. As the armsadvance past the cams they are released and the spring force provided byloops 20 cause the arms to snap into position with the core orcylindrical bore of the pirn being retained by the curved wires 10A and16A at work station 2A. Each leg is provided with a beveled element 21which fits into the internal bore of the pirns to engage the insidewall. Further clockwise rotation of the arms 18 removes the pirn fromthe convey way and advances it to work station 3A where it contactsbrush 22 rotated by motor 25 for cleaning the pirn. A washing solutionis maintained in bath 23 which is picked up by the brush.

In order to achieve better and more eflicient cleaning the pirn beingwashed is rotated in a direction opposite from the rotation of brush 22by a V-belt 19 driven on a pulley 19A from a source, not shown. TheV-belt fits into a groove on the external portion of the beveledelements 21, the details of which will be described later herein. Thepirns are normally rotated from 100 to 1,000 r.p.m. and the brush from 1to 20 r.p.m. in an opposite direction.

After the washing operation has been completed the pirn moves forward tostation 4A and contacts a non-woven rayon toweling m terial 27 which isforwarded from a 4 supply roll. The toweling is held against therotating pirn by a bar 28 under the force exerted by tension springs,not shown. The toweling is advanced between opposed rollers 30 and 31 toa chute 32 by a motor 33 which drives roller 31.

As drum 15 rotates clockwise past the wash zone 4A to zone 5A the pirnbecomes disengaged from V-belt 19, and the finished pirn is depositedupon a discharge convey way 35. Release of the pirn is facilitated bythe separation or spreading apart of arms 18 against cam surfaces 36 and37 whereby the pirn drops onto the convey way and advances to apackaging area, not shown. The arms reach zone 2A to complete the cycle.

In a preferred embodiment the drum 15 is provided with 10 sets of radialarms thus providing for the rotation of 10 pirns during a completerevolution of drum 15. The shaft is rotated at a speed of 3 r.p.m. sothat 30 pirns are picked up and discharged per minute.

Preferably, the frame 40 which supports the aforementioned elements isadjustable so that different length pirns may be accommodated. Theability to move the frame on one side inward or outward permits handlinga variety of pirn lengths. For example, the drum 15 is formed as asleeve on a shaft provided with keyways, not shown, for extending orcontracting the length thereof to vary the width between the radial arms18. The width of the convey ways 2 and 35 may be adjusted as desired.

Brush 22, which is employed for cleaning the pirn surface, is preferablyconstructed with nylon bristles or with jute bristles. The brush isself-cleaning by revolving within the cleaning solution in tank 23. Thecleaning solution preferably is a non-toxic solvent such as a mixture ofdi or trichlorinated C -C hydrocarbon having a boiling point range of160 F. to 285 F. and the particular cleaner does not exhibit an open panflash point. Other additives such as rust inhibitors may be employed.

As mentioned herein, in the discussion of FIG. 1, the mergeidentification disc removal method and mechanism involves receipt of asignal from microswitch 10, which actuates air cylinder 5 to moveplunger 6 through channel 7 and channel 8 to remove disc 9. The methodfor disc removal is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 2, whereinplunger 6 penetrates paper disc 9 and on withdrawal action by the aircylinder, the merge disc clings to the knob on the end of the arm and iswithdrawn from the center of plastic ring 81. The pirn 1 is illustratedwith a Kralastic cover.

Removal of rust and scale from the inside of pirn 3 is illustrated inFIG. 3. Brush 12 impelled by shaft 93 which is in turn driven by motor13 and positioned by air cylinder 11 (as illustrated in FIG. 1) movesbrush 12 into the center of pirn 3. Brush 12 revolving at a speed of to500 r.p.m. loosens scale which might otherwise stain yarn stored belowsaid pirn. The drive end of pirn 3 is illustrated by slotted disc 90.

The non-driven side of the pirn holding means is a beveled spindle asillustrated in FIG. 4. Pressure ring 112 is attached to rotatable shaft115 for facilitating rapid change to a different diameter of beveledspindle 21 for holding pirns having different size internal diameters.Roller bearings 113 provide radial and thrust support for the non-drivenidler bevel spindle 21. As shown in FIG. 6, spring 20 provides a pointfor deflection of the beveled spindle 21 outwardly for disengagement ofa pirn upon contact of radial arm 18 'with cam surface 36. The idlerbeveled spindle 21 is fastened to radial arm 18 by conventionalfastening means.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of another driven beveled spindle 21A. Inthis form, spindle 21A is attached to rotatable shaft 119A via pressurering 117. Shaft 119A, which is rotated by pulley belt 19 and pulleyshaft 119, drives a pirn of the type disclosed via surface frictionmaintained between the pirn and beveled spindle 21A. This rotation turnsidler beveled spindle 21A. The movement o beve d spindle 21A away frompirns is due to opening of hinge 20 under action of fixed cam (notshown) which deflects radial arms 18. Beveled spindles 21 and 21A, FIGS.4 and 5, may be cast or machined from aluminum or zinc, or alternatelythey may be molded or machined from nylons or other high-strengthplastic at a speed of 200 r.p.m. Sequentially, the pirn contacted brush22 which had nylon bristles and was rotating at a speed of 2 r.p.m. in adirection opposite to that of the pirn rotation. This brush had adiameter of 10 inches and 5 a length of 15 inches. A cleaning materialcomposed of matenalsf 1 a mixture of di and trichlorinated C -Chydrocarbons y g q g m Fg g g was briefly applied to the pirn surface byaction of the m ms 18 mp ace wit a y e u e as l brush. Two secondslater, the pirn contacted a non-woven spreader 130 of the typeillustrated in FIG. 7 WhlCh 1s towelrng WhlCl'l was movmg at the rate of0.3 ft./m1nutc. drlven and supported by shaft 138. A sanding disc 1s at-10 Th t t d t th t W fin t We all tached to the fluted roll at adimension corresponding to e plm was re agams e g 0 mm the tubediameter. Motor 13, drives belt 14 to rotate this Faces of the cleamngagent It desjlrable that, thfi f fluted spreader inside the aluminumpirn to provide for mg agent removed from the Plastlc m a peflod aninternal round surface. The attached sanding disc with exceedmg 4Seconds- Preferablyg 1t 18 rerfloved a light spring tension loading,rotates and removes the small Peflod 1 3 Seconds to aVOld Softenlllg 0fthe burrs on the tube side wall. It is desirable that only KralasllcCoallngthose tubes with burrs be sanded. Thus, the dimension The radialarms rotating clockwise moved the pirn from of a fluted roll, maintainsthe sanding disc at a proper the toweling station 4A in a period ofabout 4 seconds distance so that only burrs and nicks are removed withtoa position directly over the convey way where the out :dfiectlng h tubelengths- Referflng agaln 10 FIG- 20 action of the fixed cam surfacesspread the arms and the Internal filametel 131 011 the dflve end of thef allowed the pirn to drop to the convey surface. The pirns Hum P 3 1Srounded out by actlol} of a flutFd comcal rolled by gravity down theconvey way to a casing station lg i 130dmade nylon E y g h a where theywere automatically recased using a Model ocate t i a stance o g mm 31300 vertical caser loader as manufactured by Chisolm on To a removesany prqru mg mug e ges Ryder Company in Hanover, Pa. The cased pirnswere which may be accumulated on the pun ends. Sllght presthen trans(med to a fie for the.r co m ti sure is maintained on the sanding disc134 by rigid plate 1 P t t 1 t 1 nsu p on usmg 135 and spring 136selectively spaced for pushing against mu 1p 6 case ranspor f theSanding disc The non-woven towellng accumulated in a storage but Table Iillustrates some dimensions of various bobbin Wh,1ch was 2 fe et long by2 ffiet Wlde by hlgh' T his types which can be processed and cleanedefliciently using mm was lf every 24 hours- Thus, thls 1? anon themethod and apparatus described herein. Bobbins 1 the merge ($180 wasremoved, the core of the p was and 3 are the, more commonly en ountereddi io f cleaned and the Kralastic surface was cleaned with a unitstypically employed for winding 15 to 400* denier suitable cleaningagent. The pirn was dried and discharged thermoplastic varns. at therate of 30 pirns per minute.

TABLE I Drive Ca Wall and en thick- Iype Cover O.D., Length, I.D., I.D.,ness, unit material inch inch inch inch inch Number:

1 Bobbin Kralastic 1.610 13.125 1.291 0. 751 2 d0 .do 1.60 12.0 1.290.751 a .do .-d0 1.79 12.0 1.29 0, 751 4 do .do 2. 0 13. 0 1. 29 5Phenolic- 3.0 17. 187 1. 502 1. 6- Aluminum 2. 875 12.876 2. 313 2. 3130.0625 7 2. 486 12.875 2. 32 2. 32 0. 083 3.43 13.0 3.25 3.25 0.090

. The following example further illustrates the inven- TABLE H WASHING NCLEANING OF BOBBINS AND tron. CORES EXAMPLE Pirns or bobbins werereceived in 30 inch by 30 inch l ggig lg gfi by 45 inch shipping cartonscotnaining approximately 1 N05 M n and apparalitlllis 350 to 400 pirnsper carton. These units were moved via $3 K gf j materlals handlmgequipment such as a Tow Motor 1n P t d f t 2d Ht multiple cases to thepirn cleaning location and placed i gf ifi- 4418 0014105 on the loadingplatform for a K Model 300 case unloader Cl Kr l tit ogbins 0. 54% 0.05-0. 1 0. 001-0. 01 unscrambler, as manufactured by Chisolm RyderComiiifi tfif fi t L0 0,3414 pany at Hanover, Pa. The plrns wereautomatically un- Kmlastic bobbins (1241-4 loaded to the feed convey wayas illustrated in FIG. 1. The pirns or bobbins were of the type shown inTable I As can be observed, the percent defects as 2nd quality and hadthe dimensions of bobbin 1. As the pirns moved yarn from the machinecleaned pirns were reduced aldown the convey way in sequence, amicroswitch was most to a vanishing point using the apparatus and methactuated whereby pneumatically operated arm v6 peneod as described.Cleaning costs were only 20 to 40% of trated the paper merge disc 9 andremoved said disc from that comparable to manual cleaning. Thisrepresents a the cap end of the pirn. Simultaneously, brush 12 enteredsignificant improvement in the process of cleaning several the drive endof the pirn, rotating at a speed of 200 rpm. thousand pirns per hour. toremove scale from the core thereof. Then, in sequence In anotherexample, aluminum tubes listed as No. 6 this p1rn was plcked up byrotating arms 18 as shown in in Table I were employed. The aluminumtubes were FIG. 1. Belt 19 rotated the pirn in a clockwise directionautomatically uncased as described above and rolled by gravity tostation 1. At this point, it was contacted with a rotated nylon flutedspreader which at a speed of 200 rpm. readily rounds out the drive endof the aluminum tube suitable for subsequent uniform friction contactand driving. Simultaneously, a sanding disc tensioned at 3 oz.compression force on either side is rotated to within 1 to 3 milsdistance from the tube edge to grind off any sharp edges on the tube endwithout reducing the tube length. The tube is then picked up by theaction of the radial arms 18 and passed through the same brushingoperation as described above using the same di and trichlorinatedhydrocarbon having from C to C carbons. The use of an aqueous solutionfor cleaning aluminum should be avoided since there is a problem withthe formation of aluminum oxide which can give difliculty in subsequentstaining of the yarn Wound on the aluminum surface.

The aluminum tube in sequence was rotated against a non-woven rayontoweling and discharged to the exit convey way by the opening of springsand spreading of the radial arms holding beveled spindles to disengagethe beveled spindles from the pirn. On passage out the convey way, thealuminum pirns were automatically cased as described above.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for preparing used empty bobbins for reuse which comprisesin combination:

(a) means for advancing the bobbin to a first work zone,

(b) means for automatically removing from one end of the bobbin anidentification disc within the work zone,

(c) means for automatically brushing the core of said bobbin,

((1) means for sequentially gripping and advancing the bobbins to asecond work zone into contact with means for cleaning said bobbin with aliquid,

(e) means for drying the bobbins, and

(f) means for automatically releasing the bobbins.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for removing theidentification disc is a pneumatically operated plunger.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the means for gripping and advancingthe bobbin is comprised of pairs of radial arms selectively disposed ona rotatable drum, said arms being provided with means for holding abobbin.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein cam surfaces are provided fordeflecting the arms from their normal position.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the means for cleaning the bobbin inthe second work zone is a brush positioned to contact the bobbin.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein means is provided for rotating thebrush.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein means is provided 8 in said secondwork zone for the opposite rotation of the bobbin and a brush, saidbrush being in contact with the outer surface of said bobbin.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the bobbin is rotated by a pair ofconical-shaped members partially inserted into the bore at each end ofsaid bobbin.

9. A continuous method for automatically cleaning textile bobbins havingan internal bore which comprises, in sequence:

(a) advancing said bobbins to a first work station,

(b) removing an identification disc from one end of said bobbin at saidfirst work station,

(c) advancing said bobbin to a second work station where cleaning of theouter surface of the bobbin is accomplished by contact movement betweensaid surface and a wet brush,

((1) advancing said bobbin through a drying zone wherein the bobbin isdried, and

(e) advancing said bobbin to a release point.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the bobbin after drying isautomatically released from the apparatus and forwarded to a packagingstation.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the bobbins are advanced to the firstwork station by gravity.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the internal bore of said bobbin iscleaned simultaneously with the removal of the identification disc.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the bobbin and brush both are rotatedin opposite directions in the second work zone.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the bobbin is dried by rotation ofsaid bobbin in contact with a towel in the drying zone.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the brush rotates in contact with acleaning solvent.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 885,912 4/1908 Chilton 15601,297,299 3/1919 Meyer 1560 1,412,719 4/1922 Stutts 28-19 2,295,5769/1942 Gladfelter 15101X 2,327,986 8/1943 Bach 15-7OX 2,751,621 6/1956Mitchell 134-6X 2,956,297 10/ 1960 Edmunds 1560X 3,112,550 12/1963Bentley 28-19 3,150,396 9/1964 Unterbrink 15103.5UX

JOSEPH SCOVRONEK, Primary Examiner D. G. MILLMAN, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R.

